"The Little Red Book" (and his other books) by Harvey Penick - Page 5

Like any instruction book, I think you have to pick out the points that pertain to you. The Red Book has some things that help my game as well as the Five Fundamentals (Hogan) and I also like the Sam Snead book. How to Play your Best Golf by Tommy Armour is a good one also. I think you read them all and take a the pieces that you need. Like Harvey says "When you have a headache, don't take the whole bottle of aspirin".

Just read this again last night.  I read it before the start of every golf season; it's my favorite golf book of all time.  

 

Still trying to figure out if there's any truth in his "all greens break to the west" theory.  I know it isn't true everywhere, because of mountains, bodies of water on course, but is it generally true?  

I really enjoy this book. As someone pointed out in a previous post not every lesson is fit for all golfers but the vignettes are easy to follow.

"Arnold Palmer likes to grip the club tightly, but you are not Arnold Palmer"

I actually like his second book better, "And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend". Those of you who like the Red Book should definitely check it out.

Agree with fishinjdb.

 

I have read 'The Little Red Book' about 10 years ago. A golfing buddy recommended it to me after observing that I was short on confidence and second guessing my swing all the time. It must have been one of the best, if not the best self help book for golfers.

 

I think it lets you feel better about yourself and at the same time, teaches you something about golf. It doesn't screw your swing in giving you swing instructions but it changes your outlook about golf in a positive way. Golf doesn't have to be complicated and Harvey had managed to conveyed it so effectively.

 

Highly recommended for any golfer.

I've read 3 of these books and they are all wonderful. Good to relax with. Some books that deal with golf instruction are irritating, keep you puzzling over what was said. The 5 books with Bud Shrake are not like that at all. But they are not all feel-good pablum; there's good advice among the golf lore.

I don't follow all the advice. For example I do not use a "strong grip" but a completely neutral one, on the basis that fixes like that do not address swing flaws leading to a slice for example.

I like it when Harvey tells a pupil that his job is done, that she is going to be her own coach. So should we all be our own coaches. There's too much relying on experts.

Bud Shrake btw died back in, was it 2010? Pennick and Shrake, two Texans who meshed well. Like to find more of Shrake's sports books.

BTW, another book I ike was one by Arnold Palmer that came out in the 1990s. Liked Palmer's swing advice: Take a good grip and keep your head still, don't worry about anything else.